"Doing Your Own Thing" Personal Truth Spread

"Doing Your Own Thing" Personal Truth Spread by lalalibra

Knowing who you are is the key to staying true to who you are.

I wrote this spread for the purpose of understanding the dynamic between one's individuality and environment. It can help you to identify potential pressures that are posed by the surrounding environment (such as in what you have been directly or indirectly taught to believe in general or in relation to your specific situation/question) versus what your own instincts are telling you about what is right or wrong.

Understanding ourselves and/or certain issues/situations that we currently face may involve becoming more aware of certain ideals or expectations --- such as the pressures of who you are "supposed" to be, how you are "supposed" to think or feel, what is the "right" thing or the "normal" thing or the "smart" thing to do, etc...

Whether or not these expectations are expressed in a subtle way, our environment is bound to have made an impact on who we are today in how we've responded to whatever ideas we've been exposed to; whether we've come to identify with them or resist them, and whether we've done so consciously or unconsciously...

When you identify the expectations that others have placed upon you (and maybe even the expectations that you've placed upon yourself!), you may examine whether or not you truly agree with them. And if not, then you may find the opportunity to liberate yourself from that which isn't true to you as the unique individual that you are. You can go your own way and "do your own thing."

This spread is not meant to tell you the final answer of what is actually "right" or actually "wrong," but it can help you to explore these ideas for yourself in a deeper way, and with that understanding, you may set your own standards apart from others' opinions or expectations. And this is as it should be, for the Tarot does not instruct you how to think, how to feel, or how to act; rather, it can help you to explore different sides of the issue and help you decide all those things for yourself.

What you truly desire may challenge your environment. Or it may simply challenge your past ways of being. In becoming more aware of the relationship between these factors and what you really think or feel, it may help to prepare you to stay strong in doing what you ultimately know is right.

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***Notes on spread positions, possible modifications, and suggestions for interpretation...

~~ It's quite usual for each of us to have a wide range of outside influences, and they may differ/conflict with one other. And so "my environment" is, in that case, rather broad of a term in reference to other people. It can be a whole group, or it can even be just one other person. Keeping it general may be preferable to you, but if not, then what you can do is to specify or break up this category into more specific groups as you see fit (ie. society as a whole, the media, spouse, family, friends, neighbors, workplace, boss, coworkers, school, church, etc.).

~~ Our environment is not necessarily a negative influence. It isn't necessarily destructive towards our individuality... Or, it may very well be, but if so, your environment is not necessarily conscious of that effect (such as how positive intentions do not always necessarily manifest in actually positive or efficient ways)... Or, on the other hand, your environment may actually know exactly what is best for you, and you may be resisting it. It all depends on the actual context and the level of honesty in your assessment.

~~ Also, sometimes the question of "what is right?" can, hypothetically, by itself answer the question of "what is wrong?" IF they are indeed opposites. If you would prefer to use less cards, then you may choose to omit one of these "right" or "wrong" categories under the assumption that one will sufficiently speak for the other. However, using both may be more specific and insightful in, for example, showing how these messages of "right" or "wrong" may actually contradict each other in the form of conflicting interests or mixed messages.

~~ And lastly, in exploring our "gut instinct," it is important to consider how our emotions tend to move far more quickly than our thoughts do. We may confuse them as being the same thing. Or, perhaps they really are in agreement. It's true that our emotions may point us in the direction of following intuition or guidance... On the other hand, our emotions can also be fearful, impulsive, irrational, undiplomatic, impure, and/or limiting once we honestly check in with ourselves. Our gut instincts may not be true to who we are if it's roots stem from a limiting belief which we've likely internalized in coping with our environment rather than tuning into the pure sincerity of our heart's desire... But even a "misleading" thought or emotion has it's use if, like a rung on a ladder, we come to recognize and understand it well enough to rise above it and climb to new heights.

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"Part of where I'm going is knowing where I'm coming from / I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately / All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind / I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I've got to do or who I'm supposed to be / I don't want to be anything other than me" ~Gavin DeGraw

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"Doing Your Own Thing" Personal Truth Spread by lalalibra

..........1...2.........3...4..........
..........5 / 6.........7 / 8..........
....................9....................
...............10.....11...............

1.) What is "right" according to my environment?
2.) What is "wrong" according to my environment?

3.) What is "right" according to my gut instinct?
4.) What is "wrong" according to my gut instinct?

5.) What have I taken in from my experience? What have I internalized?
6.) ...Why? What is the cause/reason (whether conscious or unconscious) for this [Card #5]?

7.) What have I refused or resisted to fully process or acknowledge?
8.) ...Why? What is the cause/reason (whether conscious or unconscious) for this [Card #7]?

9.) What freedom do I truly desire deep down?
10.) How does the freedom that I desire compare with my current environment?
11.) How does the freedom that I desire compare with my gut instinct?

Very interesting spread. It's perfect for helping me to wrap my head around some things going on at my job that are making me uncomfortable.

I've enjoyed reading your description very much, and I loved the spread. I've done it for myself, and it was really accurate.

Thanks for sharing!

Writing this spread was inspired by being in a situation where family members didn't approve of my relationship, which led me to feel uneasy about the whole thing. It helped me to affirm that the anxiety I was feeling over it wasn't my own (it wasn't coming from my own feelings toward the romantic relationship itself); that while others may try to push me toward feeling a certain way in order to try to pressure me (out of their own beliefs, not mine), ultimately, I had the power to get them out of my head and to discover my true feelings in order to make my own choices with confidence...

I realized that this sort of muddled 'inner-versus-outer' conflict is so common of an occurrence in our lives that I wanted to create a spread that would be general enough to work for all kinds of situations... I didn't want the explanation for this spread to be too long or over-complicated, but I also felt like it was really important to include, so I'm glad to hear that it was clear enough after all. I'm so happy to hear that it could help and I really appreciate the feedback. Thank you!

Clarification on freedom?

Hello! I'm still learning tarot but I'm very excited to try this spread, it's so well written! I was wondering if somebody could clarify on how freedom should be interpreted? What do you mean by that in the last few cards?

Thank you!

Zumaria said:

Hello! I'm still learning tarot but I'm very excited to try this spread, it's so well written! I was wondering if somebody could clarify on how freedom should be interpreted? What do you mean by that in the last few cards?

Thank you!

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Hi Zumaria, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the spread!

The question, "What freedom do I truly desire deep down?" is rather open-ended as freedom can mean so many different things to different people, and it also depends on the question/context of the situation. But that's pretty much what it's asking: "What is freedom to me? What do I believe would set me free? What have I been looking for this whole time?" Exploring this can help us to affirm or to find a better understanding of what we really want deep down (that we may or may not have been aware of actually wanting). It's essentially meant to show us what we've been unconsciously working toward (or not working toward). It has a lot to do with answering what may bring us a feeling of resolution, and it's up to us to decide whether or not that resolution is "real" (as in, does it align with our personal truth, whatever that may be?) ...It's like asking ourselves what we truly desire deep down if we were to hypothetically peel everything away; if we were to strip away all the expectations... It's our underlying motivation at the present moment (how we really wish to feel or act), and if it's rooted in something false, then understanding that can help us to redirect ourselves toward achieving a more conscious approach in our thoughts and actions. It can be difficult to find a balance between our heart and our mind if our understanding of ourselves and others is clouded in some way, and cutting through those clouds is a key point of this spread.

For example, let's say someone is in the situation where every time they speak out and share their opinion, they wind up feeling guilty supposedly because of other people's reactions of disagreement and criticism. If that person feels upset about these reactions, then the "freedom" card could show a desire to hide away, to close off from others (because in that case, their perception of freedom would be a sense of comfort in being free from guilt, even if that doesn't match up with the highest good). But the "gut instinct" cards, on the other hand, may reveal a desire to speak out anyway, such as to stand up for your beliefs about a just cause. So in that case, one's gut feelings might be telling the truth by encouraging self-expression or moral action, and the freedom card could actually be pointing to a need to address one's insecurity about other people's criticisms; to discover that a true sense of freedom would come from taking responsibility for one's emotions... On the other hand, if that person happens to be well aware of the need to express themselves at whatever cost (even if other people's reactions are mildly bothersome), then the cards could work another way too -- the "freedom" card and the "gut feeling" card could both agree and support a need for self-expression, but perhaps the spread could reveal a need to do so tactfully and with sensitivity. So again, what sort of freedom the card signifies depends entirely on the actual situation and how all the cards relate to one another. That's just one example out of all the infinite possibilities. It helps to be flexible with the card positions...

Generally, I believe we're always looking for freedom through some kind of harmony or resolution, but whether or not that resolution is true to ourselves and whether it's "appropriate" or not is what's most important to consider. A lot of that we have to decide and define for ourselves. Freedom has a lot to do with discovering how "being true to ourselves" actually takes place in our daily lives, especially when push comes to shove.

I hope that helps!

ETA: So another way to sum up the question would be, "What do I need to understand?" or "What do I need to understand about myself in relation to the situation/other people?"

This looks like such a great spread, thank you for sharing! I'm thinking of using this one for the June large spread group

EmpressSha said:

This looks like such a great spread, thank you for sharing! I'm thinking of using this one for the June large spread group

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Thank you! If you do use it, I hope it works out well